The present invention relates in general to apparatus and a method for well drilling wherein a drilling template is first oriented relative to an underlying surface and then serves as a support structure for a subsequently installed well head christmas tree assembly. More specifically, the present invention relates to an apparatus and method for leveling and supporting a sub-sea drilling template for sub-sea well drilling operations which is lowered to the sea bottom and is then leveled and secured relative to the sea bottom surface from a remote location such as a drilling vessel or drilling platform on the surface of the sea.
Heretofore, it has been common when drilling sub-sea wells to either assemble and level the sub-sea drilling template in situ on the sea bottom by the use of human divers or, in the alternative, to assemble the sub-sea drilling template at the surface installation and then lower the assembled drilling template to the sea bottom where it was once again leveled by various processes which included the use of human divers either as observers or to actually accomplish the leveling itself.
Due to the mass of a sub-sea drilling template, the power requirements for raising and lowering the template in its entirety are prohibitive. Additionally, as sub-sea drilling exploration expands into those areas of the continental shelf and beyond wherein the sea depth in extreme, the use of human divers to adjust and level the drilling template is not possible.